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Thread: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

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    Troy Shellhamer 9lbShellhamer's Avatar
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    Default Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    Just curious which breaks you think are must learn BG mando breaks.
    As a starting point, (totally random here...not exhaustive or complete):

    Here are a few that benefited me greatly and I pull from often:

    Artist - Song - Album


    Jimmy Gaudreau - On and On - Tony Rice Bill Monroe Collection

    Ricky Skaggs- Old Home Place- JD Crowe and New South

    Ricky Skaggs- Goin Back To Old Kentucky- Honoring the Fathers of BG

    David Grisman- Midnight Moonlight- Old And In The Way- Live from the Boarding House. AND Anything from the Dawg Plays Big Mon Album.

    Bill Monroe- It's Mighty Dark To Travel - (From the 16 Gems Cut)

    What are your favorite breaks that you've pulled stuff from to apply to countless other breaks?
    Last edited by 9lbShellhamer; Jan-18-2017 at 1:00pm.
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    Registered User Drew Egerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    "Must learn" depends on who you jam with I guess for specifics, but there's a few tunes and songs that have helped me learn a lot of licks that can be applied to other songs. These are just a few off the top of my head, I'm sure I'm forgetting some big ones.

    In A
    Any version of "Bluegrass Special" or "Tennessee Blues".

    In B
    Anything from Alan Bibey! "Rebecca" from Herschel Sizemore is a go-to tune in B for mandolin. Intro for "Lonesome Pine" and "In The Gravel Yard" by Blue Highway.

    In C
    "East Tennessee Blues". Blanking on good vocal tunes here. I do "More Pretty Girls Than One" there usually.

    In G
    If you want a lot of good "Monroe" G-licks, Evening Prayer Blues was a great one. Alan Bibey's cut is my favorite on his solo record. Also, "High on the Mountain" from Ronnie McCoury.

    In E
    "How Long Blues" from Ronnie is also a good one for playing in E. To get into the crazy triplet stuff, you can work on "Thanks A Lot" by Bibey w/ IIIRd Tyme Out. "Every Time You Say Goodbye" intro by Steffey.

    In F
    The first thing I learned in F was the kickoff for "Rank Stranger" I think from Skaggs' version. My favorite right now is probably "Blue Virginia Blues" from Larry Sparks (not sure who played on that).


    A lot of Skaggs' breaks on the Three Pickers CD with Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs got me a long way when getting started.
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    Troy Shellhamer 9lbShellhamer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    I probably should have titled this thread something else... Yeah.


    Very cool spin on this, listing by Key.

    Thanks.


    I haven't tackled Evening Prayer Blues yet but that's a great suggestion.

    I also go back to TN Blues in A and find ways to incorporate that into a lot of breaks if I need to improvise a little...
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    I love Sam Bush's break on Old Train (off Tony's Manzanita disc). Had to transpose it to G (where my friend sings it) and practice like the devil to get the run after the double stops under my fingers - it involves an open-string shift of hand position to make work.

    It was a lot of work for like 10 seconds of break . . . but it's a heck of a break! It was actually a must-learn for me, because I love the song and really wanted to try to feel what Sam felt there.
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    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    MUST-LEARN for who?

    I think follow your heart and what you like and what you want to be able to do.
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    I don't so much learn a break note for note but listen for different ideas to use when soloing. I am avoiding being locked into a specific break and rather want to learn to solo over chord changes using some of the things I've heard used by other players. I think whatever works is great for anyone having fun playing.
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    Troy Shellhamer 9lbShellhamer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    Can't wait to check out that Sam break... His "Likes of Me" break from Tony's first album was another short and sweet break that for some reason really drew me in.
    Last edited by 9lbShellhamer; Jan-19-2017 at 5:59pm.
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    Quote Originally Posted by tree View Post
    I love Sam Bush's break on Old Train (off Tony's Manzanita disc). Had to transpose it to G (where my friend sings it) and practice like the devil to get the run after the double stops under my fingers - it involves an open-string shift of hand position to make work.

    It was a lot of work for like 10 seconds of break . . . but it's a heck of a break! It was actually a must-learn for me, because I love the song and really wanted to try to feel what Sam felt there.
    I haven't heard that song in years but I know exactly what break you are talking about. One of my favorite all-time Sam Bush breaks also. Congrats on figuring it out!

    I also remember (and like) his break on "Reach A Little Higher" where he shifts into double time about halfway through. I'm not touching that one, certainly not in this life.
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    JeffD got it right, whatever floats your boat. I would add that if you jam with friends, learn breaks for the songs they like to play. Good luck.

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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    Quote Originally Posted by 9lbShellhamer View Post
    Can't wait to check out that Sam break... His "Likes of Me" break from Tony's first album was another short and sweet break that for some reason really drew me in.
    Yes, a good one. And tabbed out in Dave Peters' Masters Of The Mandolin, as is Sam's Old Train break.

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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    Monroe's "I'm Goin' Back to Old Kentucky" has lots of good A & E stuff.
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    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    For me - Almost everything from Adam Steffey !. A really nice intro.to get your fingers around,is the one from his classic cut with Alison Krauss - ''Every Time You Say Goodbye''. If you haven't got it,buy his CD ''New Primitive'' & try your hand at some of the tunes on there. If you ever fancy a real 'finger buster',have a go at Herschel Sizemore's rendition of ''Grey Eagle''.

    One tune i've been playing lately,is a tune that at first sounds fairly mid-tempo,but certainly isn't when you play it,is Bill Monroe's version of 'Dusty Miller'. Then you have all of BM's classic tunes of course.

    Also,anything by John Reischman & / or his band 'The Jaybirds' is a must for me.

    The bottom line is 'try everything that appeals to you'. Intros.,breaks,instrumentals,even non-mandolin ones,pick 'em & make 'em your own !!, There is simply so much music out there to try not to give it a go,
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    Breaks ..... hmmmm .... traveling licks ...... Well .... Adam Steffy and Sharon Gilchrist would be worth a listen if you want to latch on to some movable licks. Their styles lean but are not dedicated in that direction. Listen to Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe and check out what Big Mon did on that recording. Dave Peters offers many arpeggio and penta licks on Live from Ovations and Art in America.... listen to Poppy Leaf Hornpipe.... R/
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    Registered User John Flynn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    I wouldn't learn any of them. What makes great breaks great is the original players weren't trying to sound like anyone else. And most people will never sound as good playing someone else's break as the originator did and most people won't sound as good trying to play someone else's break as they would playing their own.

    I guess there is something to be said that you can learn some techniques by learning great breaks and if that is your goal, learn the ones that appeal to you, ones that have a sound you want to make. You don't even have to learn the whole break, just the parts of it that make that unique sound you admire. What I would focus on is learning the melodies of the tunes and learn the basics of how to do melodic improvisation. Then I would play what I feel. It's more satisfying.

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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    I was thinking MUST-LEARN like fiddle tunes, what are the core fiddle tunes that anyone would expect you to be able to play at a jam. But now I see this doesn't really apply, because nobody in BG expects anybody to know anybody's breaks.

    So now I get it. You mean MUST_LEARN as in so great you just gotta learn 'em.

    There again, I say follow your heart. There's a lot of good ones.
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    Registered User Timbofood's Avatar
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    Learn the fingerboard, the breaks are all right there, you just have to find them.
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    If you transcribe the solos yourself from the recording(s), you'll get a lot more out of it than if you get a pre-existing tab/notation. More work involved, but more benefit & ear training.

    I would suggest working on fewer songs/tunes, but transcribing/learning multiple solos of each tune. Learn the Sam Bush or Gaudreau of whoever's solo, but why not learn the fiddle and guitar solos too. Then move on to other version(s) of the same tune done by other mando players. There's a lot to absorb from comparing the different approaches applied to the same starting point by different players.

    In my old notebooks, I'd have transcribed solos of the same tune(s) by Doyle Lawson, Vassar Clements, Tony Rice, Chubby Wise, Gaudreau, Skaggs, Larry Rice, Clarence White, Roland White, Jethro, Larry Sparks, Johnny Gimble, sometimes even Bill Keith/Eddie Adcock/Carl Jackson (banjo) and Mike Auldridge. It's all "notes" and "notes" can be played on any instrument. You will really start to see/hear/understand what elements make certain players sound the way they do.

    I could list some of the stuff I though were superior solos, but most of those date from the 70's when the progressive BG explosion occurred. BUT, I don't know if a lot of those "records" are even still in print and available anymore. (And [my] transcribing wasn't just limited to BG, lots of rock and UK folk-rock electric guitar and other instruments too.)

    As Eric Johnson says in the TOTAL ELECTRIC GUITAR dvd/vhs, your personal style is an amalgamation of all the bits and pieces of other players you learned from, just as their style was an amalgamation/fusion of elements of the players that they liked.

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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    I heard a quote attributed to Bill Monroe if I remember correctly that you should learn everything everyone else is doing and then not do any of it. I agree with that. Why do a Monroe, or Lawson, or McRenoylds break, it's already been done. Even if perfect it's not yours. Music should express you, not mimic someone.

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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    I uderstand John Flynn's point completely,but sometimes you need to learn what others have done in order to learn the 'style' of playing. It's as much about that as it is about learning the 'tune'. If you never try your hand at a Monroe tune,how are you ever going to learn to play in that style ?. You can't do it simply by listening on it's own. Once you have the 'style' of playing under your fingers,then do your own thing with it. In effect,it's exactly what Mandoplumb says in his post above.

    I will qualify my remarks above - some 'classic tunes' should be played exactly & as close to the original as possible IMHO. It's because they were so incredibly good,that they've become 'Classics'. I have,& i also suspect that many others have heard 'Classic' Bluegrass tunes totally murdered by the players 'doing their own thing'. They end up being a complete travesty of what they should sound like. I feel as though it's dishonouring the composer & i simply won't do it. I want to hear ''Foggy Mt Breakdown'' exactly as Earl played it & ''Rawhide'' (to name just one), exactly as Bill Monroe played it - no 10th rate ''own versions'' please, & i suspect that Earl or Bill wouldn't want to hear them either - purely my personal opinions of course,
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    You have got to know where you've come from to,now where you're going!
    Ivan is right, John is right, Niles is right......
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    All true, of course, but....

    Let's take Rawhide. In the stack, I have Marty Stuart's 1st solo LP, titled With A Little Help From My Friends, on Ridgerunner. His version differs markedly from Bill's, with some nifty up-the-neck doublestops. He picks it the same way on Lester Flatt & Bill Monroe - Live at Vanderbilt. Good? Yes, very. Did Bill approve? Publicly, yes. Privately, who knows. I remember talking to a well-known mando pro about young-era Marty and this picker did not like his style or that version of Rawhide, at all. Taste is so very subjective.

    In the stack, I have many versions of The Way You Look Tonight - Monk, Sinatra, Johnny Griffin, Brubeck, Peggy Lee, Wes - all different, and all great. Some I prefer over others.

    As John Mayall sang...I can't give the best unless I got room to move.

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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    From Alan - "Taste is so very subjective." Absolutely,100% correct !. But - being honest,would you like to hear the 'classic' tunes being played as close to the original as possible,or 'any way the picker thinks it should go' ?.

    I'm by no means against originality,that's exactly what i'm trying to come up with in my own playing,but i draw the line at ''messing with the classics'' - that said,Herschel Sizemore's later version of his 'classic' tune 'Rebecca',differs markedly from his original version, but there again,he did compose it so................ !!.

    I have 4 or 5 different versions (performances) of many pieces of Classical music (4 different performances of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto & 5 (coincidentally), of Beethoven's 5th Symphony - all different & all valid in their own right,the one thing that they don't do,is to remove or add anything to the actual musical score (the ''tune''). They mostly vary in tempo & expression.

    I always sort of got the idea that any performer who comes up with ''this is my version of....'',couldn't play the proper version - however i'm most likely wrong on that point (but maybe not always ?),
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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    I'll even go you one further, Ivan. For the classic tunes, they should adhere to the original key (talking mostly vocal tunes here). Many times, I hear the singer chooses the key. Hmmm...Some tunes just lose something if done in any old key. Some that come to mind:

    - Down The Road (needs to be in B)
    - Little Bessie (B)
    - Harvest Time (B)
    - Blue Virginia Blues (F)

    This last one is often done at the jam, by a guy who insists on D chord. First off, this number runs the risk of being a jam buster anyway. But regardless of that, it's the wrong key for this number, particularly when the mandolin break comes around.

    And original key refers to tunes, also. Not all, but the iconic, well-known pieces. Blackjack...any other key but B? Nope. Jerusalem Ridge...A minor. FMB...G. Don't get me wrong. I get a kick out of mixing it up, sometimes. Blackberry Blossom is fun and hip to pick it in A chord.

    And you mention Herschel. He composed a neat little number called Lee's Reel. Bibey recorded it on his Blue Room project. He (Alan) changed a key note to, I guess, smooth it out. Just that one little change (a 1/2 step mod) really changed the flavor of the tune (I think for the better...ymmv).

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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    JD Crowe, Doyle Lawson and Larry Rice did "Blackjack" in the key of C on the JD Crowe & The Kentucky Mountain Boys Ramblin' Boy album.

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    Default Re: Which BG Breaks Are A MUST-LEARN?

    Schooled...


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